Six injured in raging wildfire on Greece's Chios island

Six people were injured early Friday in a raging wildfire on the Aegean Sea resort of Chios island, according to local authorities.

All injured were residents of Sidirounta village on the island's northwestern shores, Chios mayor Manolis Bournous told the AMNA news agency.

The village has been evacuated as the flames have reached homes, while 28 firefighters assisted by two helicopters and 37 local volunteers are battling the fire, according to the Fire Brigade.

Strong winds blowing in the region are hampering the efforts on Chios island, as well as in the mainland where firefighters were trying to extinguish two similar major wildfires which broke out in two suburbs of Athens.

Greece is tested by several wildfires each summer which are linked to high temperatures or arson. The environmental cost from the scorched farmland and forests each summer is also significant. So far this summer, more than 150,000 square meters of farmland and forests have been destroyed, according to the latest data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Endi